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'Perhaps humankind can't bear too much reality, but neither can it bear too much unreality, too much abuse of the truth.' (Saul Bellow)

'448 OMAR KHAYYÁM Omar had a personality; I, for better or worse, have none. In an hour I’ll have strayed from what I am at this moment; tomorrow I’ll have forgotten what I am today. Those who are who they are, like Omar, live in just one world, the external one. Those who aren’t who they are, like me, live not only in the external world but also in a diversified, ever-changing inner world. Try as we might, we could never have the same philosophy as Omar’s. I harbour in me, like unwanted souls, the very philosophies I criticize. Omar could reject them all, for they were all external to him, but I can’t reject them, because they’re me.' (F Pessoa)

'Mrs Glass looked over, abstractedly, at the blue bathmat, across the tiled floor. Zooey stood as still as possible, in order not to break her mood. "You can't live in the world with such strong likes and dislikes," Mrs Glass said to the bathmat, then turned again toward Zooey and gave him a long look, with very little, if any, morality in it. "Regardless of what you may think, young man," she said.' (JD Salinger)

'Art only begins where imitation ends.' (Oscar Wilde)

'"I like zooey's blog," Steiner would say, "It's the only internet site with a foyer. Saul and I often meet there, by the ethereal kiosk. The ice-cream is splendid."' (ThetisMercurio)

'What is the use of telling people repeatedly that the Society is not a sect and then behave as if it were one?' (Steiner)

'Laughter means distance. Where laughter is absent, madness begins. The moment one takes the world with complete seriousness one is potentially insane.' (Jens Bjørneboe)

'If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.' (Oscar Wilde)

'Let's act like sphinxes, however falsely, until we reach the point of no longer knowing who we are. For we are, in fact, false sphinxes, with no idea of what we are in reality. The only way to be in agreement with life is to disagree with ourselves. Absurdity is divine.' (F Pessoa)

the basics

the posts on this blog are written by alicia hamberg, with the guidance of mr dog, canineosophist, and with inspiration from rudolf steiner, anthroposophist, and the rest of our friends, people, dogs and various strange beings who hang out with us in this extraordinary ethereal kiosk

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the discovery of heaven

Over a year ago, Diana recommended Harry Mulisch’s novel The Discovery of Heaven. I think I bought it the same day. But, it turned out, not only is it over 700 pages, the print is also very small. I couldn’t read it. I had my eye operation something like a week later. Then it took a while. The book ended up in some pile somewhere. But now I’ve read it. It is full of ‘mystical silliness’ as Diana puts it, but of course I love that. I also agree with her that it is possible to see it as ‘an anthroposophical novel, though it is not overtly so; in fact, the narrator makes a couple of rather disparaging remarks about anthroposophy, but the worldview is the same.’ In many ways it’s a lot more anthroposophical than Bellow’s Humboldt’s Gift, for example, where anthroposophy is overtly present, and then as an object of personal study and interest for the main character. In contrast, Mulisch’s book does not in any way, formally or openly, express anthroposophical ideas (and much less identifies them as such), but when it comes to the ideas that underlie it, make up the plot and the overarching themes of the book — there are certainly rather magnificent parallels. In addition there are countless small details that remind me of anthroposophical ideas.

Of course, anthroposophy is clearly not the only source of ideas for this book — definitely not — but it would surprise me if it wasn’t in some way one source of inspiration along with numerous other philosophies and spiritual systems of thought. The book is simply full of marvellous ideas, and presumably many that strike me as very anthroposophical are hardly unique to anthroposophy. And there are also contradictory ideas. But it is nevertheless striking how much you come across in i that reminds you of or resembles anthroposophical thoughts and concepts — and how much in it that resembles the anthroposophical conception of the world, man, higher worlds, meaning, destiny, freedom, good and evil, et c.

This obviously (or so I think!) makes for a very entertaining and exciting read, and I can very much recommend this extraordinarily intelligent novel. (Not sure if you can read the text on the back cover, but if you can, the praise is pretty accurate as far as I’m concerned. And yes, ugly with the price tag. I didn’t notice. This short description is fairly good. Just don’t read the entry about the book on wikipedia — I did, only now, and I’m glad I didn’t before I read the book.)